Avast sandbox escape via unpreserved COM pathway through Task Scheduler

Summary

CVECVE-2026-80301
StatePUBLISHED
AssignerGEN
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2026-11-06 16:18:58 UTC
Updated2026-11-06 16:18:58 UTC
DescriptionImproper isolation in the Avast sandbox on Windows allows a local, low-privileged attacker executing inside the sandbox to access COM interfaces to the Task Scheduler service, escape containment, and execute code with elevated privileges outside the sandbox. The sandbox virtualizes file system and registry access but does not adequately restrict COM interface access to Task Scheduler. A process inside the sandbox can instantiate COM objects bound to Task Scheduler functionality and invoke methods to schedule and execute tasks on the host system. The Task Scheduler COM pathway is not blocked by the sandbox policy, allowing arbitrary code execution in the host security context. This escape vector bypasses the sandbox's intended process and file isolation boundaries and can be chained with other host-level privilege escalation techniques.

Risk And Classification

Problem Types: CWE-280 | CWE-653 | CWE-280 CWE-280: Improper Handling of Insufficient Permissions or Privileges | CWE-653 CWE-653: Improper Isolation or Compartmentalization

Vendor Declared Affected Products

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
support.avg.com/SupportArticleView [email protected] support.avg.com
www.gendigital.com/us/en/contact-us/security-advisories [email protected] www.gendigital.com
support.avast.com/en-us/article/Update-Antivirus [email protected] support.avast.com
support.norton.com/sp/en/us/home/current/solutions/v20240108175512167 [email protected] support.norton.com
CVE Program record CVE.ORG www.cve.org canonical
NVD vulnerability detail NVD nvd.nist.gov canonical, analysis

Vendor Comments And Credit

Discovery Credit

CNA: Teng Zheng Wang by VulnGuard Labs (en)

Additional Advisory Data

Solutions

CNA: Gen Digital has released a fix in Avast, AVG, and Norton version 26.7 and later. The fix restricts COM interface access to Task Scheduler from within the sandbox by adding sandbox policy rules that block the COM pathway. Upgrade to version 26.7 or later to remediate this issue.

© CVE.report 2026

Use of this information constitutes acceptance for use in an AS IS condition. There are NO warranties, implied or otherwise, with regard to this information or its use. Any use of this information is at the user's risk. It is the responsibility of user to evaluate the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, opinion, advice or other content. EACH USER WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY consequences of his or her direct or indirect use of this web site. ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED. This site will NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT or any other kind of loss.

CVE, CWE, and OVAL are registred trademarks of The MITRE Corporation and the authoritative source of CVE content is MITRE's CVE web site. This site includes MITRE data granted under the following license.

Free CVE JSON API cve.report/api

CVE.report and Source URL Uptime Status status.cve.report